by James Hunter
Next, I examined the Beastiamancers, who would be my heavy cavalry.
First-level Beastiamancers couldn’t shape-shift like Asteria. That ability didn’t become available until level five—which was locked until I invested a point in the Artemis’ Blood ability—but each did come with a bonded mount: rams, bears, boars, flying horses, and the like. After seeing Asteria in action, I wanted a whole army of fighters like her, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Still, having a battalion of Amazons with bows on flying horses would be pretty rad. I could move my troops around easily and effectively, and it would give me an air force to rival Praxidike’s harpies.
Huntresses were the last of the nonmagical forces. At a glance, they seemed like a cross between rangers and thieves; they were nimble spies who could strike from the shadows with deadly ease. I definitely needed spies, and the huntresses could also double as my ranged archery unit. And even better, at higher levels, they had basic invisibility—even in combat. The damage they could do wasn’t as great as the Wardens, but holy shit, how much chaos and destruction could an invisible archer cause?
I moved on to the three magic classes: Rune-Caster, Elementalist, and Teleporter.
Elementalists could harness the power of nature, which was badass to the max, though I had to choose a specialty at the time of creation. There were five types: Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and Forest. Each had definite benefits, but again, I was worried about the harpy army I’d seen. If I could have a sorceress who summoned hurricane winds, I might just be able to keep those harpies grounded. Though the Water Elementalists had the added bonus of being able to cast minor Healing Miracles at higher levels.
Lastly, Teleporters. They were crazy-expensive to create, but once in existence, they had instant line-of-sight teleportation. Fighting something like that could be maddening, and I thought of the various enemies I’d battled in first-person shooters who could teleport. They could pop in and out of existence in a blink, being everywhere at once, sowing chaos in the enemy ranks. And at higher levels, the Teleporters could even heal damage every time they shifted, which made them nearly unstoppable.
I frowned, tapping my fingers restlessly against the hilt of my sword. Damn, so many cool options, so few resources.
Unlike the generals, these new Amazons came with a much steeper price tag, which seemed strange since my generals were the absolute best. Maybe it had something to do with some inherent magic in the blueprints Ares had passed along? I wasn’t sure—I’d probably never be sure—but it was what it was. The Battle Wardens and Huntresses required five Essence Points, the Beastiamancers and Rune-Crafters cost ten each, the Elementalists ran fifteen points apiece, and Teleporters were a whopping twenty. I paused, the wheels spinning away in my head as I tried to think of what essential personnel we’d need at this stage in the game.
Well, Phoebe would need at least two assistant Rune-Casters to help her with all the work and repairs that had to be done around the city. I also needed at least one Huntress to run recon for me and find more supplies. That left me fourteen more Amazons to work with. I’d build nine Wardens since they were cheap, and then I’d do two Elementalists—one Air-Witch, one Water-Witch. I’d use my last three slots to build Beastiamancers with battle mounts, one with a winged horse and two with huge bears.
After watching Asteria in action, I’d seen the slaughter an angry bear could inflict, and we needed that kind of muscle on our crew.
I checked my watch, and it was after 3 a.m. I was tired, sure, but I had to laugh at myself. How many times had I found myself gaming at three in the morning? Too many to count. This was nothing.
When I picked up the Hammer of Hephaestus, Phoebe nodded. You just need to do the initial strike to start the process, then I can take over and we can build the Amazons together. That’s how Ares and I did it before.
She must’ve seen the regret in my eyes.
Don’t worry, Jacob. I don’t blame you for your mistake. She waved at her injured leg. I live to serve, and this is but a little thing. Besides, Boss-man, this will take a lot out of both of us, and in this way, we can share the work. Get it?
“Yeah, I understand,” I said.
Asteria’s voice broke through our connection. Wow, you guys are amazing. This is so much fun! And we’re making so many different kinds of sisters!
“Are we making too many?” I asked Phoebe.
No. It’s a lot, and you’ll be exhausted, but at this point, I think we need as many soldiers as we can get ahold of, Phoebe sent. Ares said three weeks. I don’t believe it, not for a second. The sooner we can get troops in place, the better. And tomorrow, you can work on fortifying the city’s defenses while I forge weapons and our troops find more resources. But enough chitchat. Let’s haul ass, build some Amazons, and get them trained up right. She offered me a wide, reassuring grin, her cheeks dimpling.
I let out a sigh then nodded. “Yeah, let’s get ’er done—but at some point, I’m gonna need a gallon of Mountain Dew and a large pizza. It’s going to be a long night, er, morning, um, day, week, month, year.”
We don’t have a year, Phoebe said. And times a burnin’.
Phoebe fashioned the figurines while I worked the bellows, getting our forge red-hot. Asteria gathered wood and coal to keep the fires going.
Then we were ready for the Huntress. She needed a name, but I couldn’t think of one.
Phoebe had an answer. For your Huntresses, we could name them after the handmaidens of Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the night. She had three main servants: Hecaerge, Loxo, and Upis.
“Let’s go with Loxo,” I said.
I used the peel to place the figurine in the forge, and again, I went through the blueprints on how to create her and the options I had.
The character came with a preset appearance—dark hair and dark eyes, almost black—but I took a few minutes to tweak her features just a bit, giving her long limbs, a thin waist, and a wicked smile filled with brilliant white teeth. She was a knockout. With that done, I pulled up her character sheet and surveyed my choices. Unlike with the generals, Loxo was at level one and came with twenty base Attribute Points, which I got to divvy up at will, plus a single Ability Point I could invest into either a Combat or Class Ability.
After scrutinizing her sheet, I realized her build was most similar to Asteria’s, so I used my Beastiamancer general as the template. I dropped one point into Fortune, two points into Intelligence, ten points into Strength, and seven points into Willpower. Then, I picked the Cartography skill as her specialty, since it allowed her to unveil my map for me as she explored. With that all done, I accepted the build and toggled from the character screen over to the Hammer’s creation menu.
I watched the temperature rise like before, and when everything was ready, I took out the statuette and laid it on the anvil.
Using all of my concentration, I raised the hammer high and struck with deadly precision. The blunt face landed true, and I felt a rush of Essence Points flow out from the godstone, racing along my arm, through the hammer, and into the figurine on the anvil. Phoebe was immediately by my side, taking the hammer from me, then laying into our newest creation. Her aim was flawless—watching her work, it was obvious she’d done this countless times before.
On the third strike, Loxo was born, and since Phoebe had the hammer, I was right there to catch the fully grown woman as she toppled. And this time, I’d thankfully remembered to make her fully clothed. The woman blinked sporadically, then looked up at me with her preternaturally dark eyes, before offering me a dazzling, full-lipped smile. “Hail, God of War, I am at your service, body, mind, and spirit. I will serve you always.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. So I muttered, “Thanks.” Then, using my newfangled god muscles, I easily carted her off to the far side of the room and gently propped her up against the wall.
“Is this life now?” she asked, confused. “Am I truly alive now?”
“You are,” I said gently. “And I’m your b
oss, but I’m kinda new to the job, so please be patient with me.”
“Anything for you, my war god. So very handsome,” Loxo murmured, reaching out toward me with one hand, before promptly falling unconscious.
Phoebe answered my question before I could even ask it. Yes, all the Amazons you create are going to be crushing on you. Hard. It’s what Ares wanted, and Ares was a total horn-dog.
I couldn’t get over how weird that was. I was flattered, and more than a little intrigued, but at the same time, I needed to keep my eye on the prize. Yes, being surrounded by a legion of beautiful women who adored me did have a certain appeal, but I couldn’t forget that this wasn’t all fun and games—I needed to save the fucking world. Oh well. We were all going to have to figure things out as we went.
Before moving on to the next Amazon in line, I decided to upgrade Loxo.
As my only Huntress and my primary recon scout, I needed her to be at the top of her game. I pulled up her character screen again and realized that I could use Essence Points and Thymos Crystals to power her right up to level five. I did so, draining myself of a whopping fifty Essence Points and burning through several pounds of the rare Crystal. But sure enough, she jumped to level five, giving me another thirty Attribute Points to distribute, plus three more Ability Points.
I dealt out the points—twenty to Strength, thirteen to Willpower, seven to Intelligence—then dropped one Ability point into Whisper Step and the other three into Shadow Cloak. Not only would she be able to move as quietly as a house cat, but Shadow Cloak rendered her partially invisible at all times. Hell, in pockets of deep shade, she could vanish entirely. I felt good about my newest recruit, though I’d have to go easy with the rest of them.
Asteria slipped over beside me, then shifted into a hefty Clydesdale; I gently picked Loxo up from the dusty floor and laid her across Asteria’s back. No worry, Jacob Merely. I will take her to the barracks and get her comfortable. You build. I will come back for the next woman. So many sisters. So much fun. We will make merry and run through the vast plains, free as the wind blows!
I grinned at Asteria’s excitement. Though she could fight like a devil, she had such an innocent charm to her.
Next, Phoebe and I started on the Elementalists, since they were going to be resource intensive. We decided on the name Otrere for the Water-Witch and Aella for the Air-Witch. I remembered Aella was one of the harpies that Hercules fought, and her name meant whirlwind. As with Loxo, I went through and tweaked their appearance and character sheets, then initiated the creation process. And as with Loxo, both of the Amazons woke pledging their love and undying devotion to me.
Yep, I was sure that was going to turn out fine—absolutely no unforeseen complications lingering on the horizon.
Asteria led them off to put them to bed in the barracks on the other side of the temple, while we continued with the grueling work. I created the three Beastiamancers next; Toxaris would be my archer on a winged horse, Alkaia was one of my bear riders, and Euryleia was the other.
Interestingly, when Phoebe and I fashioned the Beastiamancers, pieces of their figurines broke off, forming their mounts—two ridiculously cute baby bear cubs and a shaky-legged colt with wings covered in downy feathers.
We worked that way for the next several hours, creating, tweaking, naming, then passing off the new recruits to Asteria, who patiently saw them to the barracks. In that way, we created nine Battle Wardens and two more Rune-Casters—whom Phoebe insisted on naming Brontes and Steropes, after the cyclopean helpers of Hephaestus, god of smiths. By the time the work was done, it was the next day, the sun peeking up over the horizon. I’d been drinking gallons of water, but I was half-starving and completely exhausted.
On the plus side, all the work I’d done had paid off in experience points, bringing me two-thirds of the way to my next level.
As I wiped a shaky hand across my dirt-stained forehead, Myrina messaged me. Have you completed your work or are you napping? We don’t have time for you to fritter away, Jacob Merely. Our walls are in ruins, and our gates are laughable. Or don’t you want to protect the sigil?
I sighed. I was going to have to confront Myrina, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Maybe if I was extra nice to her, she would come around?
Yeah, I didn’t think that was going to happen.
EIGHTEEN
Repairs
I strode into the master suite and gazed longingly at my bed. Oh, those feathers and the soft blankets, they called to me. Sweet, sweet sleep. The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d gamed for days on end before, but for most of that time, I had been hopped up on Mountain Dew, fueled by processed food, and comfortable in a cushy chair while my butt got bigger. On Lycastia, playing the Ares game, I was walking long miles, fighting for my life, and getting more exercise than I had in boot camp.
Physically, it was taking a toll on me even if I had the blood of a god flowing through my veins.
Myrina didn’t care. The whip mark on her face had scabbed over, and she gave me a nice long glare. She stood at the command table, which was a miniature model of Lycastia—topographically accurate and made with excruciating detail. The plate of yesterday’s spider bacon sat cold and congealing on a platter near a ruined temple at the south end of the island. I didn’t care a bit that the meat was cold or that it had that arachnid tang to it. I got busy chewing and then gulping down water.
I took a moment to tell Myrina my deepest desire. “I am definitely going to use my newfound powers to create a Mountain Dew fountain or at least some coffee bushes. Dammit, we need a Starbucks on this island.”
“We do not have time for your nonsense and complaining,” she shot back, arms folded across her chest as she surveyed the map. “Now, from what I understand, you can use the Thymos Crystals we gathered fighting the arachnaswine and from Stheno’s lair to add fortifications to our walls. I think we should reinforce the gates first and then repair and augment the walls.”
“Myrina,” I said. “Before we get to all that, you and I have to talk. I know I’m not the war god you wanted, but I’m all we have. I just got done creating seventeen Amazons of various abilities. I have a level-five Huntress scoping out the island. Her name is Loxo. You’ll like her. All of that is to say, I’m doing my level best. If you have a problem with me or the way I’m running this show, then we need to have it out. Now. I like you. You’re tough, hardworking, and good at your job, but I’m not putting up with any more bullshit from you. So, what’s your deal with me?”
Myrina searched my face. Her hard blue eyes turned soft, even vulnerable. But that all disappeared in a flash. “We do not have time to talk about my feelings. I understand that I come across as brusque, and, to be honest, I find your prattle and this video game you are playing insufferable. Yet I will suffer it because that is what I was created to do. It is as Praxidike said—I am but a puppet in your service.” She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and let it out. “I ask that you and I work through the morning, and I promise I will be gentler with you.”
She made it sound like I was made out of glass. Like I was a new puppy that hadn’t even grown out of my milk teeth.
I should’ve pushed, but she had promised to be less difficult to work with. And really, I just wanted to get done and get some shut-eye. I was knackered. The bacon was helping me, though. I wanted bread to go with it. I felt like I was going carb-free, and if there was one time in my life I needed a good loaf of dark rye, it was then. Even a week-old English muffin would’ve been nice.
“Okay, Myrina. Fine. We’re not done, but I’m too tired to get you to talk with me this morning. Just know, I’m not Ares. I heard about how he abandoned the sigil half-created so that he could go and fight. I wouldn’t have done that. You need to know that. I’m not in this for personal glory.”
Myrina raised her chin, but that hurt look was back in her eyes. Right then, I knew that whatever issues she had with me, it was more about her previous life with Ares and wha
t had happened the day of the massacre. “I understand, Jacob Merely.” She cleared her throat and tucked a golden flyaway behind her ear. “Let us speak of the fortifications.”
I nodded, and we got to work. Over the next few minutes she walked me through the map, pointing at the Temple of Hades to the south and several of the more dangerous dungeons scattered throughout the island before moving on to Lycastia City. She was right, we needed to get the gates fixed, and the walls had been breached in several locations. The defenses on the ocean side of the island were intact, so we were lucky there. There were two entrances on the east side, the spider gate and then a gate that led to the trail that wound around the north mountain.
Both would have to be repaired.
I saw a small series of structures northeast of the city. “What are those?” I asked with a wave of my hand.
“That is a small temple praising the god Phoebus Apollo,” Myrina replied. “There are hot springs there, and it is a sacred place. Before … with Ares … it was …” She stopped speaking, her face a grimace of old pain. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing to know is that it will be in ruins like everything else, and it has no great strategic significance.”
I noticed that the path to the hot springs rose up on steps to a hillock before dropping down and around the mountain. “What about expanding our defenses? I think we should create two towers at the top of the hills, where the spider pigs are as well as on the north side. We could wall off the whole area, from the cliffs to the mountain.” I jabbed at the map with my finger. “We add a portcullis, murder holes, arrow slits, and that’s where we put our troops. Then, if we need to, we can fall back to the main city.”
